Counting Chambers – Is Reusable Really Better?

Let’s talk about counting chambers for a minute. You might call it a slide, a consumable or a chip. It’s all the same to us.

Nexcelom’s first product was a disposable hemacytometer CP2. The rationale was the existing product available for researchers was the hemacytometer, and that was riddled with problems and concerns. They were (and are!) expensive, they are prone to breaking and could be time consuming to wash. Everyone has a bad day from time-to-time, when their mind is somewhere else. It’s not too hard to imagine that human error would come into play and result in a hemacytomer or cover slip breaking or not being washed properly.

With these matters taken into consideration, Nexcelom introduced a disposable hemacytometer – eliminating the need for the silly coverslips, concerns about breaking and the difficulty in cleaning properly to prevent cross-contamination. Gone is time wasted in washing. Gone is concern about breaking. Gone is the uncertainty. By using a fresh, disposable hemacytometer with each count there would be no doubt.

Once Nexcelom began developing its automated cell counters there was no question that we should continue on that same mentality and create disposable counting chambers. As such, we have developed a line of counting chambers that work universally in all of our Cellometer instruments and never need to be washed or cleaned. Use and dispose. Done. Easy. Time-Saving.

In this ever increasingly expensive society, everyone’s always looking for ways to cut costs. The new “buzz” right now as a means of saving money and cutting costs is a reusable consumable. There is no doubt that there is some cost savings by having to purchase fewer counting chambers or slides. But even that savings comes at a cost. How much time will you lose by having to wash the reusable chamber? How much time will you spend wondering if it was washed properly enough to ensure your previous samples aren’t contaminating your newest count? Will you ever feel 100% confident that the reusable chamber will be able to give you reproducible results?

With a disposable counting chamber you never have to worry. If cost per count is a deciding factor for you and your lab, give us a call and talk to one of our Sales Specialists. We’d be happy to work with you on a volume discount. At the end of the day, the peace of mind you’ll have by not having to double guess your results is worth it.